Milwaukee Bucks coach Taylor Jenkins made a bold move this week, opting to bench Ryan Rollins and give rookie guard Brayden Burries the start against the Minnesota Timberwolves and Boston Celtics. It's not surprising to see Burries get more opportunity given his stature as the highest Bucks draft pick in a decade, but to get the nod over Rollins mere weeks into his NBA career was a huge step for Burries.
The Bucks lost both of those games, and you could argue Rollins out-played Burries between the two contests, but the decision to keep Burries as starter makes sense anyway. He hasn't looked completely overmatched, and giving Burries more opportunities to learn and grow against the best players in the NBA is a logical move for Jenkins.
So, why stop there? Burries isn't the only 2026 late lottery pick on the Bucks roster, and you could argue fellow rookie Nate Ament has a legitimate case to start over Kyle Kuzma just as Burries is over Rollins.
Through six games, Ament has been a statistically better scorer than Kuzma. Ament is averaging 7.2 points and 2.3 rebounds in just 14.8 minutes per game and shooting 45% from 2-point range and 40% from 3.
Kuzma is playing significantly more minutes as a full-time starter but only posting 9.5 points in 26.4 minutes per game, while shooting 56.8% from 2 and 31.6% from 3. Per minute, Ament is scoring the ball more often and turning it over less, while Kuzma has the advantage in rebounding and playmaking (where he's posting a strong 4.1 assists to just 2.2 turnovers per 36 minutes).
Defensively, Ament's length has made a clear impact in his first few NBA games. Kuzma is still the better on-ball defender thanks to his increased strength and better screen navigation, but Ament adds on defense too.
It's dangerous to draw too much from per minute comparions when one player isn't playing as many minutes. Ament making a shot per game in limited minutes expands to prolific scoring that hasn't happened, and suffers from seemingly poor rebounding stats that boil down to a few bounces away from him in his scant playing time.
But the point isn't that Ament is clearly better than Kuzma right now. Burries is not clearly better than Rollins right now, especially defensively, and that starting five could sure use an impact defender at one of the guard spots. The point is that Burries starting is worth it in the long-term even if it makes today's Bucks somewhat worse, and the same is true for Nate Ament.
The fun factor probably doesn't factor into Jenkins' thinking at all, but from a fan perspective it's undoubtedly more compelling to watch Ament make mistakes in losses than seeing Kuzma do the same thing. And, honestly, Ament's mistakes have been few to start his career.
Ament has played with a poise and confidence far beyond a typical lanky 19-year-old, and has clearly bought into using his frame and length to be physical on both sides of the floor. He blocks out the sun with his close-outs on defense, and has attacked the paint and drawn free throws while hitting open threes on the other end.
If the Bucks are going to lose the majority of their games anyway, leaning into these exciting rookies is the best move. What better way to kick off NBA Cup action this week than starting Nate Ament for the first time in his NBA career?
This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/bucks/onsi as Why Nate Ament should join Brayden Burries in Bucks starting lineup .
